Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Scapegoat for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Scapegoat" — noun, pronounced /ˈskeɪpɡəʊt/, with the stress on "scape".
Narrator: A scapegoat is a person who is blamed for something wrong that others did.
Narrator: In plain English, it is someone who takes the blame unfairly.
Narrator: It comes from an old ritual where a goat was sent away carrying the people’s sins, the escape goat.
Narrator: A common collocation is "made a scapegoat", which describes being unfairly blamed.
Narrator: It differs from "culprit", because a culprit is actually guilty, while a scapegoat is not.
Narrator: In a second sense, groups can be scapegoated in politics during hard times.
Narrator: Workplaces, politics, sport and psychology all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: a scapegoat carries blame that isn’t theirs.
Speaker A: Why was the intern blamed for the outage?
Speaker B: He was the SCAPEGOAT! From the ancient escape goat ritual.
Speaker A: Not his fault?
Speaker B: Not at all.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "The manager became a scapegoat for poor results", sport. "Don't make her the scapegoat", work. "Migrants were scapegoated", history.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Write it as one word, "scapegoat".
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Fall guy is its cousin, whipping boy its twin, and patsy an alternative — yet scapegoat keeps its ancient reputation!
Speaker B: Let's use "scapegoat" in AI prompts — useful for incident reviews and history lessons.
Speaker A: How for incident reviews?
Speaker B: Stay blameless.
Prompt: Rewrite this incident review so it focuses on causes rather than making anyone a scapegoat.
Speaker A: And history?
Speaker B: Explain patterns.
Prompt: Explain how scapegoating worked in 1930s Europe for sixth-form students.
Speaker A: Could it help HR?
Speaker B: Yes, for fairness.
Prompt: Write guidance for managers on avoiding scapegoating after a failed project.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Sport.
Prompt: Write a balanced column asking whether the goalkeeper is a scapegoat for the defeat.
Scapegoat — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary